John Donne

"The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy at first as his cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of one and the same day. And as even his birth is his death, so every action and passage that manifests Christ to us is his birth, for Epiphany is manifestation."

24 likes

Source: John Donne, John Carey (2000). “John Donne: The Major Works”, p.123, Oxford University Press, USA

About the author

John Donne

John Donne

Poet, Cleric

John Donne was a 17th-century English poet known for his complex explorations of love, death, and spirituality, particularly in works like 'The Flea' and 'Death Be Not Proud.'

All quotes by John Donne →

Same author

More quotes by John Donne

See all →
John Donne Poet, Cleric

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

Read quote
John Donne Poet, Cleric

"Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus through windows and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run?"

Read quote